The Stranger: A Story of the Nerevarine
by quirkbother
Summary: A Nerevarine adventure involving my character, Dan Curint, with the Nerevarine.
1. Introduction

_Disclaimer: The Elder Scrolls and everything within it and its universe belongs to Bethesda. _

_Author's Note: This a continuation with my character, Dan Curint, involved in a Nerevarine story. However, he is not the Nerevarine. Thanks go to a friend of mine for help in creating this Nerevarine._

**The Stranger:**

**Story of the Nerevarine**

Hadlarf Ice-Wind awoke in his cell in the Imperial Prison. He grabbed at his painfully

throbbing head, the most sore part of his body from laying on the hard ground of the cell.

Perhaps in Skyrim he had been too accustomed to the soft feather beds that those of nobility

were able to use. In any case, the bedroll on the dungeon floor may as well have not been there.

The last prisoner must have thought so as well, because he had died sleeping on the side away

from the bed.

His mind wandered back to how he had ended up in Cyrodiil in the first place. A year ago,

he had been in Skyrim. There had been a killing of one of the Skyrim nobles. Hundreds of people

worked in the castle, but he had been a prime suspect. As a noble's son, and a friend of the king's

sons, he had access to almost everywhere in the castle.

Eventually, he became the **only **suspect. All others were proven to have some sort of alibi

or evidence they had not committed the crime. He, however, having no such evidence, simply

believed in the justice of the law to bring him through. However, when he was brought up to a

trial, held by the king himself, one of the other nobles, a Redguard, came forward with evidence.

He showed a knife owned by Hadlarf, with the blood of the noble on it. As soon as the knife was

presented, Hadlarf was as good as dead. He was sentenced to death, and was tossed into the

freezing dungeons below the castle as punishment.

He was saved by one of the princes, the youngest one named Engar. Engar had been

unable to defend Hadlarf, for he had been on a journey to prove his ability as a warrior, when

Hadlarf was accused. However, as soon as he learned of the coming trial, he had hastened to

reach Hadlarf in time. He arrived, however, too late.

The day before Hadlarf's execution, Engar had come down to the dungeon. The guards,

coming forward, asked if the prince required anything. Engar told them to get out, and stay out

until he had come back out. The guards quietly followed orders, returning through the doors to

the castle. Engar went over to Hadlarf, and asked him how he was doing. Hadlarf noticed in his

eyes a look of guilt, as though he blamed himself for what had happened to Hadlarf. Halfway

through their conversation, Engar had suddenly held a hand over Hadlarf's mouth, and pulled out

a key, unlocking the cell door for Hadlarf. He showed Hadlarf another way to leave the dungeon,

in the farther back, rarely used reaches of the dungeon. He had said, "Get out of here and go to

Cyrodiil. Stay low, don't attract attention, and wait until you are forgotten. Don't let them catch

you again, because I won't have the chance to help you if you're caught again."

Hadlarf had taken Engar's warning to heart, but even after that, he had still somehow

gotten himself caught a year later. He cursed to himself. Once Skyrim learned about him, he

would be deported to Skryim to be executed. He was dead for sure this time.

Suddenly, Hadlarf heard the door to his cell open, and a man who purposefully stayed in

the shadows walked in, escorted by a guard. Hadlarf started to stand up, but then the guard pulled

out the sword, and Hadlarf, catching the meaning, stayed seated.

The shadowed man stared at him for a long time, until he finally said, "Yes. Do it." He

left the cell, leaving the guard alone with Hadlarf.

Hadlarf suddenly backed up to the wall, realizing what it must mean. _They're going to kill _

_me, _he thought to himself, as he closed his eyes and prepared for the end.

Suddenly, Hadlarf heard the man's sword return to its sheath. He stared at the guard.

"You're not going to kill me? But I thought that's what Skryim wanted."

The man grinned at him. "That may be what Skryim wanted," he said. He pulled Hadlarf

up and knocked him out with a fist to the temple. "But it's not what the Emperor wants." He

tossed Hadlarf over his shoulder, and carried him outside the prison to the waterfront. There, he

was passed off to a group of guards, who brought him onto a prison ship, which then immediately

departed, leaving a group of Khajiit prisoners cheering as the prison wardens escorting them

stood dumbfounded at the early departure.

He awoke again later in the dark, but was rocked to sleep by the sound of the waves, his

body weak from the blow. He slept through the night.

That same night, in a Telvanni tower far, far to the east in Vvardenfell, Dan Curint awoke

with a start. He had the dream again, which showed the red lights and battles unknown. But this

time, they were more vivid, with more to them. He had seen several faces, all of which were

familiar and unknown at the same time, all important and impossible to understand. He had seen

the red stones again, all in different sizes and shapes, spread everywhere, all presented in an

incomprehensible way. He saw a hand on a cliff, and he reached for the hand, but then he had

shaken, and been awoken.

He got up out of his bed, sighing as he stretched. He wasn't sure why he tried to sleep

anymore. As a Telvanni Wizard, it was no longer required; he had the life extending magic to

depend upon. _I suppose, _he thought to himself, _it's just something you get used to._ He walked

over to a table, where a message lay on the table for him from Master Aryon. He opened the

letter, and read through it again:

_Wizard, I hope you are willing to do a service for House Telvanni. A meeting has been arranged with a Hlaalu Councillor to...discuss, issues over a supply of ebony found in what is rightfully Telvanni territory. The meeting is set two and a half weeks from now at the Hlaalu Balmora Offices. Thank you, Dan._

_Telvanni Master Aryon_

Dan tossed the letter to the side, knowing that Aryon's asking him to do it was just a formality,

and not a question. As a lower rank, it was his responsibility to do whatever it was that Aryon

asked him to do. Therefore, Dan was the Telvanni representative. End of story. He sat back down

on his bed, and decided that perhaps his day would be best spent performing his studies. No point

in thinking about dreams that make no sense and dutiesare weeks away.

He left, not realizing that soon his duty and dreams would collide together, causing him to

be part of a story of prophecy, treachery, and friendship.

_So, there's chapter 1...give me a good idea of how I did, it's been a while since I've written._

_-Quirk_


	2. Welcome to Seyda Neen

_Author's Note: My apologies for the odd format in the first chapter. The program on my computer is...odd, to say the least._

**Chapter 1:**

**Welcome to Vvardenfell**

Dark visions filled Hadlarf's head as he lay in the boat, rocked by the waves of the ocean.

He saw visions of a land he had never seen before, filled with storms of ash, with deserts to

match. He heard a voice speak, a woman's voice, comforting him, but also making him fearful,

as if the voice itself was a friend and a threat. Then, he suddenly heard a rough, hard voice, and

was shaken awake by a Dunmer man, who looked to be of a tough, hardened demeanor..

"Stand up. Here, take this." He was handed a small, stone cup filled with water.He drank

it quickly, realizing his thirst after being asleep so long. "Thank you, Dunmer." The Dark Elf

gave a slight grin. "I'm from around the Empire, like you, Nord. I prefer Dark Elf. Then again,

considering where we're landing, it's probably a good thing you use that term."Hadlarf looked at

him in confusion. "Why would that be a good skill to know?" Hadlarf asked. "I heard the guards

speaking last night, while you were asleep. We're heading to Vvardenfell. Lucky thing, too. I was

scheduled to be thrown in the Imperial Prison for life, and I get deported to Morrowind instead."

Hadlarf once again looked confused. "What is Vvardenfell?" Jiub, after shaking his head

at the Nord's lack of knowledge, replied, "It's the name of one of Morrowind's provinces.

Speaking of names...my name's Jiub. Just Jiub, I don't care for my past. What would yours be,

Nord?**" **Hadlarf put down the cup, and sat on the floor of the room. "My name is Hadlarf

Icewind."

"Well, Hadlarf, mind telling me what those dreams you were having were?" Jiub sat

himself up on a box near the doorway. "You were tossing and turning in your sleep all night."

Hadlarf opened his mouth to reply. Suddenly, Jiub held his hand out. "Wait..." Jiub put his ear

against a hollow spot in the wall of the ship, and then turned to Hadlarf. "Quiet. The guards are

coming," he whispered, as he moved himself to the corner away from Hadlarf.

An Imperial Guard walked in, wearing rather simple armor for your usual guard, made of

leather and fur. The guard, completely ignoring Jiub, said to Hadlarf, "You get off here. Come

with me." Hadlarf promptly followed, feeling on his face the bruise from the last guard who

wasn't fond of him. He was quickly led outside to the top deck, where he was led to the doorway

of the Census and Excise Office. He then realized what Jiub had meant back on the ship: They

were being let off for their crimes, and simply being released with a clean record in Morrowind.

Inside, Hadlarf was introduced to the Census and Excise Office official, Socucius Ergalla.

He was a Breton, with a white tonsure for hair and wearing nothing more than a pair of shoes and

a brown robe. He smiled at Hadlarf.

"Ah, you are the prisoner. Yes, you are to be released here, but first we need official

information on you. Birth date and location, your area of work, just usual records information.

Most of your files were sent here already." Socucius laid out the papers for Hadlarf, and Hadlarf

began to write in on the top of the sheet:

_Name: _Hadlarf Icewind

_Birthsign:_ The Thief

_Previous Profession: _Knight

Hadlarf handed the sheet back to Socucius, who looked it over, occasionally murmuring

something to himself. Finally, he stamped the papers with his seal of approval, and said, "Bring

these papers to Sellus Gravius in the next building from this one." He pointed at a door guarded

by an Imperial Legion soldier. "Go through that door and then take the door in the room to your

right, and you'll get there."

Hadlarf picked up the papers, and walked through the door. He went through the room,

but seeing the bottle of flin on the table, grabbed it and put it in his pants' pocket. He went

outside, and went over to the building. However, as he was walking over, he tripped over a small

weed that had grown in the small, garden-like space. He fell into a barrel, knocking it over. He

cursed his bad luck-at least, until, a small ring fell out. He picked it up, knowing that it would

also be something quite easy to hide. It was immediately stuffed into the pocket with the flin.

He went on through the door, where Sellus Gravius sat in a chair, looking over a paper laying on

his desk. Upon seeing Hadlarf enter the room, he put the paper down, and looked at him

seriously. The Imperial was definitely Legion through and through, that could be seen just in the

way he sat. That and his armor, which was that of a commanding officer in the legion.

"Well," Sellus said, "don't just sit there, bring your papers over." Hadlarf walked over

and dropped the papers in front of Sellus, who checked for Socucius' seal of approval. "Alright,

you're good. Here is some gold to get going, courtesy of the Emperor, along with orders from

him." He handed Hadlarf a pile of gold coins and a package with a paper on top. "You are under

orders from the Emperor to find Caius Cossades in Balmora and give him this package, and

follow any orders he gives you. I don't know why the Emperor sent you here, or why you're

supposed to go to Caius, but it's obviously important, seeing as how it came from the Emperor.

I'll warn you, don't put this off. The Emperor gave you this freedom, Hadlarf. He can just as

easily take it away."

He then stood up and walked over to the other side of the room, opening the

door, and gesturing for Hadlarf to come through the door. Hadlarf slowly walked over, thinking

on what he had just heard from Gravius. Why would the Emperor, of all people, send him here?

And who was Caius Cossades? He supposed there was only one way to find out.

Hadlarf stepped outside, and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell in the area. He

looked for the source of the smell, and realized the town was quite swampish, and not exactly the

best of places. He saw a huge bug, which he saw someone...getting off of? Worst of all, he

noticed the heat. In Skryim, the cold temperatures had been nice for him; the heat here was

terrible for him. He wondered what plane of Oblivion he had wandered into.

Sellus answered that question for him. "Welcome to Seyda Neen, the official Imperial

port of Vvardenfell. Enjoy the mudcrabs," Sellus said sarcastically, before slamming the

door behind Hadlarf, stranding him in a strange new place.


End file.
